About Long Island Gardener Expertise Growing Tulips? Dahlias? Daffodils? Gladiolus? It doesn't get easier than bulbs and tubers. Once in a while, something goes wrong: The dreaded Narcissus Bulb Fly, which resembles a honeybee. Mosaic virus, which can ignite a field of tulips in a single season. Nematodes, lurking underground. Here on the North Shore of Long Island, the garden is full of surprises. If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I can help you pick the right bulb for every season, indoors and out, and help you fertilize, bloom and harvest for home or work. How: I have degrees in related fields, but my best understanding is all learned from trial and error. For most of my 53 years I have been gardening somewhere. No matter what the problem, I've learned the best answers are always Organic -- Earth friendly, less expensive, healthier for people and pets, easier and cleaner than toxic liquids and powders that big chemical companies sell so smoothly.
Experience Besides degrees in related fields, and a few favorite horticultural societies, I work as a docent at our local botanical gardens -- but it's the years of work in the garden that's the real test.
Question My tuberous begonias (hanging basket type) got powdery mildew late in the season. Can I expect problems next year if I store them as usually suggested over the winter?
Answer Those Powdery Mildew spores are EVERYWHERE, my friend -- on my fingers as I type here in the studio. On your shoes as you sit and read this. They are on the mail when your postal service comes to the door, and floating through the air when you go running. They're in your sweat, on the Kleenex when you blow your nose, swishing around when Fido wags his tail. You get the picture? Those TB's can run but they can't hide. It does not matter if they got Powdery Mildew last year or not. They'll get it, or they won't, depending...
The talcum-powder trademark seen on infected leaves is a mass of Fungal mycelia containing reproductive structures. In hard times like Winter, Spores are encased in pinhead-sized, Dark Brown protective shells (called 'Cleistothecia') on leaves. There, they can survive for months. Come Spring, they open and release the Spores; humid conditions and air temps 70 degrees F to 75 degrees F are optimal.
Here's what Cornell University gurus have to tell you about Powdery Mildew:
'There are numerous Fungi that fall under the general description of a Powdery Mildew...The Fungi which cause Powdery Mildew are spread by spores produced in the White patches...Generally each species of Fungus will be limited in the number of plant species that can be attacked. For example the species of Fungus infecting Lilacs will not cause Powdery Mildew on Apples...' The Fungus for Hop Powdery Mildew, 'Podosphaera macularis', attacks only Hop.
While it is true that Spores overwinter on infected debris, just removing the debris is not enough, as you can see.
You've heard that old gardener's saying about An Ounce Of Prevention, right?
Bacillus subtilis strain QST 713 was approved by the EPA as a Powdery Mildew treatment. It is packed and sold by AgraQuest in California as 'Serenade':
www.serenadegarden.com/
This is very effective -- but use it BEFORE you see symptoms. Not AFTER. Thanks for writing,
